Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Renewable Energy: Standards

lord foster of bath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 4 June (HL4822), what legally binding targets they have set for (1) renewable energy as a whole, and (2) for each type of renewable energy; and in each case, why any such targets were set.

lord callanan: The Government is committed to the decarbonisation of the UK energy sector and as part of this commitment set a legally binding new target to cut emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2050.This came into force on 26th June 2019 under The Climate Change Act 2008 (2050 Target Amendment) Order 2019. Under the EU Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC), the UK has a target of 20% renewable energy by 2020. The Renewable Energy Directive does not include targets for individual renewable energy technologies. The Government has not set legally binding targets for renewable energy as a whole or for individual renewable energy technologies beyond 2020.

Retail Trade: Coronavirus

lord naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of major furniture retailers reopening stores before 15 June on independent furniture retailers.

lord callanan: The regulations have always identified homeware, building supplies and hardware stores as being among those businesses which may be regarded as legal exceptions to the requirement to close. The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 does not include a definition on what constitutes a homeware retailer. It is for each business to assess whether they are a business exempt from closing having considered the Regulations.

Business: Coronavirus

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with business representative bodies about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with employer bodies about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with representatives of small- and medium-sized enterprises about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

lord callanan: The Department continues to have close contact with UK Business Representative Organisations (BROs) to help us understand where support is most needed for businesses across the economy during the Coronavirus outbreak and the economic recovery. This engagement includes, but is not limited to, meetings and discussions with leading organisations such as Trade Associations, and cross-sector organisations. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has instigated a series of regular calls with BROs and other Trade Associations during the coronavirus outbreak to discuss government support measures, including the suite of Coronavirus business support schemes. BROs and Trade Associations are also invited to join regular sector specific calls led by relevant Ministers, and engagement forums around Safer Working Environments led by the Secretary of State, where they provided the views of their members to support Her Majesty'd Government in developing guidance for the working environments most relevant to their membership. The Secretary of State is also creating 5 new business-focused groups to unleash Britain’s growth potential and create jobs, as part of the government’s plans to help the economy bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic. This will engage both business representative organisations and SMEs.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Integrated Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy Review

lord campbell of pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated date of publication of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Following the Chancellor's announcement that the Comprehensive Spending Review is being delayed, the Integrated Review has been paused given the pressing need to focus on COVID-19. We will return to the Integrated Review when appropriate to do so, aligned with the CSR, ensuring that we engage with all relevant stakeholders.

Department of Health and Social Care

Disease Control: Mental Health

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions, if any, were placed on the National Risk Register to mitigate the risk to the nation's mental health in the event of a pandemic in (1) 2018, (2) 2019, and (3) 2020.

lord bethell: To improve the Government's understanding of the consequences of risks, such as the effect on the mental wellbeing of the population, the National Risk Register consults a wide variety of experts in Government departments, devolved administrations and outside of Government in agencies, academic institutions and industry.

Coronavirus: Older People

lord crisp: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 lockdown for people who are shielding or over the age of 70.

lord bethell: The Government will continue to ensure support is available for those who need it for as long as people are advised to follow shielding guidance. We know this is challenging guidance to follow and we want to ensure that people who are shielding continue to receive the right advice for them at a time.From 1 June those shielding may wish to spend time outdoors once a day. This can be beneficial for mental and physical wellbeing for people of all ages, particularly those shielding alone. The advice is for people who are shielding to spend time outdoors alone or with members of their own household or, for those shielding alone, with one person from another household.To ensure vulnerable individuals, including those shielding and the over 70s, we have put a core support offer in place to help them stay at home where they wished to follow this advice, including delivering over 2 million free food boxes, providing priority supermarket delivery services, providing care, ensuring people can get medicines delivered to their homes and enlisting the help of National Health Service volunteer responders in delivering shopping and calling people for a ‘check in and chat’.We have also announced £5 million of funding for mental health charities to support adults and children and a further £4.2 million is being awarded to mental health charities as part of the Government’s £750 million package of support for the voluntary sector during the pandemic.

Diabetes: Health Services

lord rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to increase the use of digital technology in care pathways for people with diabetes.

lord rennard: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefit of offering digital (1) coaching, (2) education, and (3) weight management, programmes to people with type 2 diabetes.

lord bethell: NHS England and NHS Improvement have taken several steps to promote access to digital self-management support for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.They are currently working to widen access including by redeveloping and supporting implementation of an online, self-management support tool called ‘Healthy Living for People with Type 2 diabetes’ and are actively considering ways to educate the public on the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle. They are also investing in the wider adoption of several digital interventions and commissioning a package of new online self-management courses to help people living with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Coronavirus: Quarantine

baroness thornton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they informed NHS England's Director of Primary Care of their intention to update the guidancefor people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 to advise that they can now leave their homes if they wish.

lord bethell: We have engaged extensively with NHS England and NHS Improvement via the Department’s Clinical Oversight Group, of which NHS England and NHS Improvement are members, and through several stakeholder calls throughout the process of updating the guidance and will continue to do so.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what updates they receiveon the regionalvalues of the reproductionindexfor the COVID-19 virus; and what plans they have to publish such values on a routine basis.

lord bethell: Transparency, including on the evidence informing the views of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), is vital in helping to maintain the public’s trust and grow our collective understanding of the disease, while also helping to explain how scientific advice to the Government is being formed. The Government is working to publish evidence documents and studies, which have formed the basis of SAGE’s discussions and advice to Ministers, regularly, and will publish more evidence in the coming weeks.SAGE does not currently publish the R value on a regional level. SAGE publishes an updated estimate of the United Kingdom-wide R range on a weekly basis.

World Health Organisation: Coronavirus

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have been disaggregating COVID-19 cases reported to the WHO by (1) age, (2) sex, and (3) any other variables.

lord bethell: Public Health England (PHE) shares data with the World Health Organization (WHO) EURO on a weekly basis. Anonymised data is sent that contains age, sex, country, date of birth, laboratory confirmation, date first sample was taken, SARS-CoV-2 laboratory result, admission to hospital, date of hospital admission and underlying conditions.PHE reports data on behalf of the devolved administrations. The level of information the devolved administrations share with PHE to share with WHO EURO may differ from what PHE reports for England.

HIV Infection: Screening

lord black of brentwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to provide an update on plans to support HIV testing initiatives across England; and if so, when.

lord bethell: Public Health England (PHE) supports HIV testing initiatives across England through its national programmes where appropriate.PHE has committed to supporting the 56 Dean Street Breaking the Chain campaign via HIV Prevention England, the national HIV Prevention Programme and the national HIV self-sampling service. From 5 June 2020, residents of all local authorities in England can order a free self-sampling kit through the national HIV self-sampling service. PHE has committed to paying for 7,000 HIV tests, including syphilis opt-out testing, throughout the promotional period.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the effect of an increase in temperature on the (1) environmental endurance, and (2) transmission, of COVID-19.

lord bethell: The relationship between meteorological factors and COVID-19 hotspots, transmission (passing from one person to another), and environmental endurance (survival of the virus in the environment) have not been clarified sufficiently in any country, or globally. Much of the information currently available on transmission and the occurrence of COVID-19 hotspots relies on understanding the differences in epidemiology between other known species of human coronaviruses and COVID-19.Carefully designed studies take time to gather observations and currently results around how COVID-19 effects its interaction with environmental, population and societal aspects are not yet available. Therefore, the current Public Health England (PHE) infection control advice assumes that the transmission characteristics of COVID-19 are similar to those of the 2003 SARS-CoV outbreak.PHE continues to review and consider evidence on the potential association between environmental factors, including temperature, and the health impacts of COVID-19, as it emerges.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the possibility of the UK population achieving herd immunity to COVID-19.

lord bethell: Since the outbreak of COVID-19 was first identified, the United Kingdom Government has set out to mitigate against the spread of the virus in the UK population through various measures, including promotion of hand and respiratory hygiene and social distancing. This has subsequently led to a reduction in R and new daily cases identified, helping to protect the National Health Service and save lives.The Government has made no assessment of the possibility of the UK population achieving herd immunity as it is not the Government’s policy, nor its aim for herd immunity to be achieved. Whilst it is not and has never been UK policy to stride for herd immunity, the proportion of the UK population who have had COVID-19 and recovered will gradually increase over time unless disease activity ceases entirely. As we understand the science at this juncture, it appears that most individuals who recover from COVID-19 do develop antibodies.

Coronavirus: Exercise

lord addington: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of encouraging exercise to improve national resistance against the COVID-19 pandemic.

lord bethell: The Government wants people to remain fit and active at all times. The Chief Medical Officer is clear that being physically active is very important to long-term health and crucial for keeping people healthy during the ongoing pandemic. Evidence suggests that regular physical activity can promote good physical health and help manage stress and anxiety.People are able to go outside for a walk, run, cycle or any other independent way they normally get active outside. The Government has published detailed guidance for members of the public on how they can exercise outside and for outdoor facilities on re-opening, should they wish to do so.Those who are identified as vulnerable, older people and those with existing health conditions, should make every effort to stay active. There are many things people can do indoors. People who recovering from feeling unwell with potential COVID-19 should avoid strenuous activity as they recover.

Obesity: Discrimination

baroness bull: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bethell on 4 June (HL Deb, col 1442), what is their policy on weight shaming; and what plans they have to (1) follow scientific advice, and (2) endorse effective strategies, for eradicating any form of weight stigma; and what assessment they have made of various evidence showing that such stigma (a) leads to both physical and psychological harm, (b) increases the likelihood of unhealthy behaviours and weight gain, and (c) is linked to health inequalities, racism and sexism.

lord bethell: We oppose weight shaming. Our focus is on tackling the causes of obesity, improving diets and preventing ill health. Many of the measures in the three chapters of the childhood obesity plan will have an impact on reducing obesity and improving diets across all age groups. In addition, Public Health England encourages the population to follow a healthy balanced diet through the 5 A Day campaign, Change4Life and OneYou social marketing campaigns.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid: Coronavirus

baroness goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the Department for International Development is taking to mitigate (1) any secondary impact of COVID-19, and (2) any related restrictions put in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic, in any fragile or conflict-affected states; and what proportion ofOverseas Development Assistance the Department has committed to such states.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK is pursuing a strong and co-ordinated global response to COVID-19, particularly for the most vulnerable countries. We recognise the risk that responses to the pandemic in some contexts may include politicisation, exploitation and securitisation, which may risk fuelling grievances, triggering violent instability, dividing societies and emboldening conflict actors.Our approach to promoting stability in fragile and conflict-affected states is underpinned by the DFID Building Stability Framework, which recognises that conflict and fragility do not have single causes and constitute a complex system, and that helping fragile countries become more stable is a long-term endeavour.DFID is taking steps to ensure that both our immediate responses to COVID-19 and long-term recovery efforts do not exacerbate conflict and instead help to build peace and improve governance. We monitor how the pandemic and responses to it, including any necessary restrictions, interact with conflict and governance on an ongoing basis in fragile states. We are encouraging our implementing partners to demonstrate accountability, strengthen local owner- and leadership and adopt inclusive, conflict sensitive approaches. We are also working with International Financial Institutions and the UN to ensure their humanitarian, development and peace efforts are galvanised into an effective and coordinated response.

Developing Countries: Coronavirus

baroness goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government howthey are supporting responses to the COVID-19 pandemic which seek to address (1) the immediate, and (2) the underlying, causes of conflict and violence; and what steps they are taking to make sure Official Development Assistance supports communities to manage any increase in social tensions as a result of the pandemic.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK is pursuing a strong and co-ordinated global response to COVID-19, particularly for the most vulnerable countries. We recognise the risk that responses to the pandemic in some contexts may include politicisation, exploitation and securitisation, which may risk fuelling grievances, triggering violent instability, dividing societies and emboldening conflict actors.The UK is taking steps to ensure that both our immediate responses to COVID-19 and long-term recovery efforts do not exacerbate conflict and instead help to build peace, improve governance and strengthen social cohesion. We are encouraging our implementing partners to demonstrate accountability, strengthen local owner- and leadership and adopt inclusive, conflict sensitive approaches. We are also working with partners, governments, media providers, civil society and local leaders to counter misinformation. DFID and the FCO are working together to encourage state and security responses that are transparent, proportionate, fair and promote human rights as a core part of the UK response.We particularly recognise the importance of working with local women’s rights and women-led organisations to deliver more effective and safer responses. We also believe that greater engagement of local partners ensures continuity and builds resilience and social cohesion as efforts shift to the medium and longer term recovery.

Ministry of Defence

Unmanned Air Vehicles

baroness stern: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on (1) the 'Mosquito' project, (2) the 'Many Drones Make Light Work' programme, and (3) other work to network-enabled or ‘swarm' drones; and when they anticipate such network-enabled drone capability to be operational.

baroness goldie: Project Mosquito is a technology demonstration being conducted in two phases. Phase 1 is complete, and the Ministry of Defence is currently evaluating the proposals for Phase 2. As Project Mosquito is a technology demonstrator, it is not anticipated that the project will result in an operational capability. The Many Drones Make Light Work project explores the technical feasibility and military use of a swarm of up to twenty small unmanned aircraft vehicles, operating under the control of one individual. The project is in its final phase, Phase 3, delivering a structured flight evaluation programme of this new capability with the successful first trials held in March 2020. The Royal Air Force's swarming drones project continues to be developed by the Rapid Capabilities Office with progress during recent trials exceeding expectations in several areas. Following the successful first trials, 216 Squadron was reformed at RAF Waddington on 1 April 2020. They will take on the operating role for the RAF's fleet of network enabled drones.

Iran: USA

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for a military-to-military channel of communication between the United States of America and Iran, particularly in relation to naval incidents in the Persian Gulf.

baroness goldie: The UK continues to seek a de-escalation of tensions in the Gulf, and urges restraint from all parties. Specific channels of communication are a matter for the US and Iran.

Department for Work and Pensions

Visual Impairment: Coronavirus

lord foulkes of cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to increase public awareness of the challenges experienced by blind and partially sighted people (1) while the restrictions to address the COVID-19 are in place, and (2) as those restrictions are lifted.

lord foulkes of cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to (1) meet the needs of blind and partially sighted people as the restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic are lifted, and (2) ensure that blind and partially sighted people are able to play an active role in society.

baroness stedman-scott: The Government is committed to ensuring that disabled people can play a full role in society, with a manifesto commitment to publish a National Strategy for Disabled People. All equality and discrimination laws and obligations continue to apply during the Coronavirus pandemic. We worked with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to transcribe gov.uk pages on general coronavirus guidelines and financial advice into spoken word formats. This guidance is available on RNIB phone lines. This ensures that visually impaired people without access to the internet are able to receive the same advice as sighted people with internet access.We recognise that some people with disabilities face particular difficulty in social distancing, or are impacted by the reaction of others to their inability to socially distance. We are considering how we ensure that disabled people are able to socially distance in order to protect themselves from Coronavirus and from adverse attention from people who perceive that they are not adhering to guidelines on social distancing.

Home Office

Contact Tracing: Fraud

lord lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what supplementary budgets and resources are being provided to Action Fraud and the Suspicious Email Reporting Service to handle incidents of impersonation and fraud relating to the NHS test and trace service, and to support effective action against the perpetrators.

baroness williams of trafford: Reporting fraud and suspicious emails forms part of the core business of Action Fraud (AF) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) respectively. Whilst there is a risk that the number of fraud reports increases, we believe that AF’s services are sufficiently equipped to respond to these effectively from within their existing resources. We will work closely with City of London Police (owners of the Action Fraud service) to ensure that this still remains the case as the service is expanded. With regard to any increase in reports to SERS, it is an automated system designed to triage and – if found to be malicious - act upon reports of suspicious emails. As an automated service it can scale accordingly, without the requirement for supplementary budget or resource. In the six weeks since its launch, it has received and automatically acted upon over 670,000 reports. The Home Office, NCSC, City of London Police and other stakeholders are already working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that the service is delivered in a way which minimises the risk of fraud.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Cricket: Coronavirus

lord mann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the England and Wales Cricket Board about preparations for any future socially distanced spectators at cricket matches.

baroness barran: We are working closely with the sector to facilitate the return of spectators to elite sport, and we have noted the return of spectators in Hungarian football. A multidisciplinary working group, including a number of sports’ medical directors, has begun to consider the breadth of guidance needed in Stage 5 of the return of competitive sport. Guidance will include medical, sports, and venue expertise as well as the experience of other sectors that will reopen to audiences. We will continue to be led by wider public health guidance, and we will reflect on all emerging best practice, both domestically and internationally, in future guidance on spectators at sports events.

Sports: Coronavirus

lord mann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had about the changes required to allow a limited number of socially distanced spectators to attend outdoor sporting events.

lord mann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Hungary about the health impact and outcomes of Hungarian football allowing spectators to attend Hungarian football matches.

baroness barran: We are working closely with the sector to facilitate the return of spectators to elite sport, and we have noted the return of spectators in Hungarian football. A multidisciplinary working group, including a number of sports’ medical directors, has begun to consider the breadth of guidance needed in Stage 5 of the return of competitive sport. Guidance will include medical, sports, and venue expertise as well as the experience of other sectors that will reopen to audiences. We will continue to be led by wider public health guidance, and we will reflect on all emerging best practice, both domestically and internationally, in future guidance on spectators at sports events.